Department for Transport

Merchant Shipping: Communication

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetherthere is a contingency plan in place forBritish Ship Owners in the event of war or disaster causing the total loss of communications with British merchant shipping.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport routinely assesses and monitors the risks posed to British-flagged shipping worldwide, using intelligence assessments and reporting from a range of HMG partners. Guidance and advice is updated and shared with industry on a regular basis; emergent risks and associated advice are distributed through a resilient communications system. In the event of war or disaster, causing the total loss of communications with British-flagged vessels, appropriate contingency plans and proven structures are in place to ensure ship owners have access to the required guidance and full range of support available from HMG.

Department of Health and Social Care

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil servants at the Department of Health and Social Care support the work of the Joint Committee on Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI); which teams those staff are in; who they are managed by; and how they filter information they provide to the JCVI.

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what qualifications in (1) medical, and (2) scientific, areas the civil servants at the Department of Health and Social Care who support the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation possess.

Lord Bethell: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is supported by 4.5 full time positions as secretariat to the committee. The secretariat are based in the Immunisation Division in the National Infection Service of Public Health England (PHE) and managed by the Head of Immunisation in PHE. The secretariat gathers information from a range of sources, including from academic research, PHE and from industry sources. Decisions on information to be shared with the JCVI are made by the secretariat in consultation with consultant epidemiologists, the Head of Immunisation and the Chair of the Committee. Members may also share information with the secretariat or the JCVI. The secretariat are educated to degree level or higher in biological sciences disciplines and are supported by the Head of Immunisation in PHE and a number of consultant epidemiologists and scientists.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 test kits manufactured in China have been purchased for use in theUK;what those kits have cost; and what capacitythere is in the UK for the production of such kits.

Lord Bethell: As of 14 May 2021, more than 1 billion self-test and assisted lateral flow devices (LFDs) manufactured in China have been purchased for use in the United Kingdom. We are unable to provide the cost of these kits as this information is commercially sensitive. A gradual increase in the proportion of UK-produced self-test LFDs is anticipated by the summer.

Department for Education

National Tutoring Programme: Disadvantaged

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the National Tutoring Programme targets financially disadvantaged pupils.

Baroness Berridge: The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is currently available for schools during the 2020-21 academic year. Schools can access tuition support from approved Tuition Partners. For further information, schools can visit the NTP website: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/.The NTP is a key part of the government’s COVID-19 catch-up response and provides additional, targeted tuition support to disadvantaged children and young people who have been hardest hit from disruption to their education as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.Our delivery partner, the Education Endowment Foundation, has provided a guide to schools to ensure that they can make the most of the provision: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/resources.The programme is intended to support disadvantaged children who are eligible for pupil premium funding, but we recognise that the COVID-19 outbreak has affected many children's lives in many ways and there are different indicators of disadvantage to take into consideration. That is why teachers and head teachers have the flexibility to exercise their professional judgement to identify the pupils most likely to benefit from additional support. In addition to the support offered by Tuition Partners, we have placed over 1,000 Academic Mentors directly into some of our most disadvantaged schools to provide in-house tuition.The Tuition Partners offer a good blend of national and regional providers that can offer support to schools across all regions in England. The programme ensures that support has been particularly targeted to regions with the largest numbers of disadvantaged pupils and in regions where access to tutoring has historically been low.We continue to engage directly with head teachers, local networks of schools and national stakeholders to ensure that NTP support reaches as many disadvantaged pupils as possible.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Baroness Tyler of Enfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Department for Education press release 'Schools and colleges to benefit from boost in expert mental health support', published on 10 May, what is the percentage of schools that will benefit, by the end of the 2021-22 academic year, from (1) the accelerated roll-out of Mental Health Support Teams, (2) the new training for senior mental health leads, and (3) both of these initiatives.

Baroness Berridge: The government estimates that around 400 Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), covering an estimated 3 million children and young people (around 35% of pupils and students in England), will be in place in schools and colleges by 2023. Over 180 MHSTs have already been established across the country covering approximately 15% of the pupil and student population in England, and we expect teams to reach 20-25% coverage by the end of financial year 2021/22 – a year earlier than originally planned.A grant for senior mental health lead training will become available at the start of the new academic year 2021/22, enabling up to 7800 schools and colleges (approximately a third of all schools and colleges) to access training to help them implement a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing before 31 March 2022. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing. Funding beyond 1 April 2022 is subject to future government spending decisions and as schools and colleges are yet to apply for a senior mental health lead training grants, no data is available on the percentage of schools and colleges receiving both MHST support, and senior mental health lead training.

Ministry of Defence

War Widows: Pensions

Lord Craig of Radley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have found a solution to the problem of War Widows pensions, as referred to in the letter from Baroness Goldie to Lord Craig of Radley dated 11 Maerch 2020 and placed in the Library of the House.

Baroness Goldie: The Government recognises the unique commitment that service families make to our country and remains sympathetic to the circumstances of those who remarried and cohabited before 1 April 2015. The Ministry of Defence is exploring options that ensure consistency with established Government convention that such payments are not made retrospectively. The issue remains a priority for the Department, though it remains very complex. The Defence Secretary has taken a personal lead in this matter and wrote to Mrs Mary Moreland, the former Chair of the War Widows Association. The Department is ensuring that the necessary time and resource is committed to examine every reasonable option that remains possible.

Armed Forces Covenant: Northern Ireland

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Armed Forces Covenant is fully implemented in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Goldie: The Armed Forces Covenant applies throughout the U.K. but delivery is shaped by local and regional factors and jurisdictions. The Government is making good progress in delivering the Covenant in Northern Ireland, where unique circumstances require a different approach to be taken from the rest of the U.K. For example, last year Danny Kinahan was appointed as Northern Ireland’s first Veterans Commissioner, to act as a voice and advocate for veterans; additional funding has been secured for the Veterans’ Support Office in Northern Ireland to assist in delivery of the Covenant at ground level; and projects in Northern Ireland received over £1.6million last year from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust’s £10million per year fund for initiatives across the U.K. that support the Armed Forces Community. The Ministry of Defence’s review into the Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Irish (Home Service) Aftercare Service (NI ACS) has begun. It is currently considering whether the remit of the Service should be widened to cover all Her Majesty’s Forces veterans living in Northern Ireland with service-related injuries and conditions. The review is due to conclude in March 2022. Finally, the Government is further incorporating the Armed Forces Covenant into law, in the Armed Forces Bill 2021, and this will apply across the U.K., including in Northern Ireland.

USA: Unidentified Flying Objects

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have had any role in the government of the United States' Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force; if they had no such role, what contact and information exchange they have had with that Task Force; and whether that government has contacted the UK Government about a report being prepared by the US Director of National Intelligence on this issue.

Baroness Goldie: Her Majesty's Government does not have a role in the United States' Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. Whilst the Ministry of Defence is aware of the planned report, it has not contributed to it and would be unable to provide any comments on the report ahead of its official release by the US Government.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Stedman-Scott on 27 April (HL14861), whether the statistics provided include those aged over 80 who received no State Pension; and, if not, as of March 2021 how many (1) women, and (2) men, living in the UK aged over 80 were receiving no State Pension.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: I can confirm that the figures provided in HL14861 only include those aged over 80 that are currently in receipt of a State Pension. The Department does not hold the information to answer how many individuals are not in receipt of State Pension.

Treasury

Change and Innovation in the Unsecured Credit Market Review

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have toimplement the recommendations made by the Financial Conduct Authority in The Woolard Review - A review of change and innovation in the unsecured credit market, published on 2 February.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government has welcomed The Woolard Review – A review of change and innovation in the unsecured credit market. The review will contribute to the evidence base to inform the Government’s future decisions in relation to this market. The review made recommendations to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), including many calling for the FCA to work closely with government. The FCA has stated that it supports the recommendations directed to the FCA and will build these recommendations into their forthcoming Business Plan, as one driver of their priorities for 2021-22. While many of the recommendations are for the FCA and are, as the review acknowledges, longer-term recommendations there was one recommendation relating to Buy-Now-Pay-Later which required urgent Government action. We have already responded to this recommendation. On 2 February the Government announced it would legislate to regulate interest-free Buy-Now-Pay-Later agreements, and these agreements will be regulated by the FCA. On 17 March, the Government tabled an amendment to the Financial Services Bill to provide the Government with the powers to ensure a proportionate approach to this regulation. The Government will bring forward secondary legislation to bring currently unregulated Buy-Now-Pay-Later products into regulation when Parliamentary time allows. The final approach to regulation will be determined following public consultation.

Debts: Advisory Services

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the findings in the Christian’s Against Poverty’s Our Story, Client Report 2021, published in April, that 45 per cent of clients did not initially know where to access help to manage their debts, what plans they have to better (1) signpost, and (2) raise awareness of, debt advice services as part of the recovery from COVID-19.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The Government recognises that some people are struggling with their personal finances as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold. The Government is committed to helping people access the support they need to get their finances back on track. This is why it has agreed to maintain record levels of debt advice funding for the Money and Pension Service (MaPS) in 2021/22, bringing the budget for free debt advice in England to £94.6 million, an increase of over 70% compared to 2019/20 levels.Support from MaPS is available to all online, and the website includes a debt advice locator tool to help people find local free advice services. MaPS also launched a Money Navigator Tool last year, promoted via various channels, which helps people navigate their finances during the pandemic and avoid financial issues worsening in future.To ensure that people are signposted to the help they need, MaPS services are referenced in the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) guidance, which is issued to all financial services lenders regulated by the FCA. Further, MaPS-funded free-to-client debt advice service providers have been pro-actively reaching out to customers during the pandemic, including by using video-calls and webchat to offer broader ways for clients to engage.In addition, the MaPS-led Pilot of Adviser Capacity and Efficiency (PACE) was launched in March 2019, offering a new route into debt advice. This pro-actively engages people by working closely with creditors, who introduce those who are missing payments to the service and promote the benefits of seeking help. In addition to creditor referrals, MaPS launched a self-referral route into PACE in November 2019 to engage with customers directly. The pilot’s evaluation is ongoing, and MaPS will move successful elements of the work to full-scale from this Autumn.

Taxation: Treaties

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the tax treaty between the UK and Canada overrides the legislationand HMRC guidance which advises that MPs and peers should be domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: The tax treaty between the UK and Canada does not override the provision of UK law that treats members of the House of Commons and House of Lords as domiciled in the UK for tax purposes. UK law also treats members of the House of Commons and House of Lords as resident in the UK for tax purposes. Where an MP or peer was also resident in Canada for tax purposes under Canadian law, a tie-breaker in the tax treaty would determine the state in which the member was considered to be resident for the purposes of applying the tax treaty.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

World Heritage Sites: Liverpool

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Historic England’s view that (1) the Liverpool Docks are the largest and most complete system of docks anywhere in the world, and (2) the infill of the West Waterloo Docks would harm Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage status.

Baroness Barran: The Government recognises the importance of protecting Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage status, and the outstanding universal value for which the Liverpool Docks and the rest of the site were inscribed in 2004. We continue to value the advice of Historic England on all aspects of the United Kingdom’s implementation of the World Heritage Convention. We note Historic England’s opposition to the proposed development at West Waterloo Docks and will continue to work with all parties to protect the heritage of Liverpool.

Unemployment: Young People

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £90 million programme to help tackle inequalities in youth unemployment, announced on 19 March 2018, wasdistributed in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020 and (4) 2021.

Baroness Barran: In 2018, the government announced that £90m of dormant assets funding would be used to tackle inequalities in youth unemployment. This was allocated in full to the Youth Futures Foundation (YFF), an independent organisation established in 2019 to improve employment outcomes for young people from marginalised backgrounds. YFF draw down their funding according to need and have so far received £55.86m of the £90m allocated to them: (1) £125,000 in 2018, (2) £45.7m in 2019, and (3) £10m in 2020. As an independent organisation, the government has no control over the timings of any onward distribution of this money.